
South 
Charleston 



Early History and 
Reminiscences by 
One Who Knows 

A s o u v E N I R 




A I I'.l KM KM I I >l U 



SKETCHES 



OF 



SOUTH CHARLESTON 
OHIO 



Reminiscences of Early Scenes 

Anecdotes and Facts About 

Early Residents 



By ALBERT REEDER 



^ 



Copyrighted 1910. by 
ALBERT REEDER 



-I h[* FN All HI IN NNINTINO, CO. 
COLUMBUt, O. 



£ CI.A :. 9953 



cd 



After being requested, by my many 
friends, to give them the early history 
of South Charleston, I have attempted 
to do so in this small volume. The 
paragraphs appear in the order in which 
they came to my mind, and are not 
in all instances in chronological order. 
I have written it as I remember it, 
together with such historic facts as I 
could gather about our Township and 
County, including our county seat of 
Springfield, Ohio. 

I submit this to the public, and hope 
my feeble efforts will be appreciated. 

Sincerely Yours, 

ALBERT REEDER. 

South Charleston, Ohio 
December, 1910 



INTRODUCTION 



During the winter of [813, im grandfather, Jacob Reeder, 
came from the East through the wilds of the then new State of 
Ohio, prospecting for a place to locate for a home for himself 

and family. In some way he struck a blazed road through the 
woods a few miles Easl of where our town of South Charleston 
now is. This road was just north of the creek in the North 
End of town and the only read of any kind in this part of the 
country, lie followed it until he came to a large sulphur spring 
in the field now owned by Thomas Mattinson and only a few rods 
northeast of our present Detroit, Tole.lo & [ronton Railroad 
bridge. There he found an abundance of pure water for his 
family and his livestock. He then came hack on the south side 
of the creek where the ground was higher and built a log cabin, 
opposite the John M. Murray mound, just west of town where 
several <>f the old pioneers were buried in later years, lie built 
the first log cabin in this part of the country and he was the first 
white man to settle here after the Indians left, lie came back 
from the East over this blazed road very early in the spring of 
[814 with hi> wife and four children in a wagon and when lie 
got opposite his new log cabin he found he could not cross the 
creek, for it was frozen over and the ice not thick' enough to 
hear his team of oxen or horses and the wagon. It was very 
cold for his family to stay in the wagon and he musl gel across. 
So he got there as an oil pioneer always could. He got a pole 
ami broke the ice in large blocks back of where he wanted to 
cross and shoved it under the solid ice in the driveway; the 
water not being very deep he forced the blocks of ire down on 
the gravel in the bottom >>i the creek and Irove over to his cabin 
on a solid ice bridge. That is the way the first white man gol 

■ •ate in South Charleston. ( )hio. 

\l that time my father. John Reeder. was a hoy nine years 
of age, who told me while they lived in this cabin he gol four 
or five plants of peppermint and planted it there along the creek. 
That was nearly one hundred years ago, and then' is now an 
abundance of that mint still growing near where the cabin used 
to stand. By that I could easily locate the site of the old home. 

My grandfather, several years later, bought a fine farm three 
miles east >>i town on the north and south side of what i< now 



the London Pike. He raised a large family and lived there 
until his death in 1X48. 

In looking n]) the history of our earliest settlers in Madison 
Township who settled here in the early days. 1 find that my 

-land father when he settled in his cabin along the creek had 
only four neighboring families and they all lived from two to 
three miles distant from him. 

I find in tracing hack the early history of old Uncle G< 
Buffenberger that he was the first white man to settle with hi- 
family in what i- now Malison Township, Clark County, Ohio. 
He bought land warrants of the Revolutionary soldiers and 

settled on sixteen hundred acres of land about three and one- 
half miles down the creek west of South Charleston that cost 
him fifty cents per acre; that was about 1798 or 179" 1. while Ohio 
was still a Territory. Ohio was admitted as a State in 1802. 
There he settle 1 among the Indians in a leg cabin and later on 
built a large brick house which I shall mention later on in my 
story. He nut Daniel Boone and his Indian tighter- at one time 
near LTrbana, Ohio. Joseph Briggs, father of Amos and Charles 
Briggs. settled <>n one thousand acres of land two and one-half 
miles south of our town. 1 will tell hereafter where he built 
hi- log cabin. 

Old Father Morris was a grand old man. 1 well remember 
him. Me was a Baptist preacher and grandfather of John M. 

and |anie- C. Murray. Me settled in 1812 on a farm near 
Lisbon. My grandfather's fourth neighbor was my grandfather 

on my mother's side, Daniel Jones. Me came here in 1812 from 
Newark, State of Delaware, a slave State. He bought a section 
of land, six hundred ami forty acres, about three miles northeast 
of town and raise 1 a family of thirteen children. He lived there 
until his death. I will tell more about him later on. 

My great-grandfather, lames Junes, came to America from 
Wales in 1710. locating near Newark, State of Delaware. 



Historical South Charleston 



When Conrad Critz came here in [815 he bought a tract of 
Government land including where South Charleston now is and 
the William Comrie homestead farm. He did not build his log 
cabin here in town but settled on the farm above named, about 
one mile north of town. There north of the present Comrie 
residence he built a cabin of round logs. Uncle James S. Harvey 
says he often has been in this old cabin. The only cabin built 
here up to that time was Grandfather Reeder's, near the creek. 

I have seen almost the entire town built. The date- are 
taken from the county record. 

I have a distinct recollection of climbing an old rail fence 
at what is now Barmann's corner, and goin^ lown through the 
wood> to play. There were but two log houses down that way; 
one just ea-t 1 1 f where Charlie Nichelson now lives, and one 
where Charlie Smith'- house now stands. Chillicothe street was 
opened up after the Pennsylvania Railroad was built in [849 to 
[851. About 300 yards west of where the town hall now stands 
was a large pond upon which we boy- played "shinny," and 
where the older boys -hot wild duck-. 

I wa- born in the old Keeder home on North Chillicothe 
street. < M' the entire village at that time only nine houses remain 
standing now. and only two people now living who were living 
here at that time. 

I am the oldest continued resident of South Charleston, 
having lived here all my life: Mr-. A. F. Taft and Mrs. Ahihu 
Raines having moved away for a time and then returned here. 

South Charleston wa- originally located in Stokes Township, 
Madison County, but wa- afterward thrown into Clark County 
ami the name changed from Charlestown to South Charleston. 
The change in name wa- Awr to there being other Charlestowns 
and mail wa- frequently missent. 

The name Charlestown wa- given in honor of Charles Paist, 
one of the first merchants in the village, who ran a general store 

in a -mall frame building on the Paullin corner. The original 

7 



plat was laid out by Conrad Critz, November i. [815, but the 
plat was not recorded until February 5. 1816. The plat was 
acknowledged before John Kelso, a farmer Justice of the Peace, 
firsl one m Madison Township. The second addition was made 

to the town by a plat on the north of the Critz plat by Christopher 
Lightfoot, and was recorded January 10. 1823. The third addi- 
tion was made by Edward Evans south and west <>i the Critz 
plat. The hr-t survey was made by John T. Stewart. November 
1. [815. Tlie second by John Woolman about 1823. and the 
third by John Miller in 1851. 

John Reeder, my father, then a boy of ten years, earned 
the chain for Surveyor John T. Stewart, and also carried the 
chain when Lisbon was laid out. Springfield, Lisbon and 
Charlestown were laid out within a very short time of each 
other, and an amusing incident is related that a man told my 
father at one time that Springfield would probably be a large 
town if it wasn't so near Lisbon. But Lisbon failed to fulfill 
the expectations. 

According to the dates upon which the first survey i^i South 
Charleston was made, the centennial anniversary will come on 
November 1. 1915. 

The town at the time was made up of two streets, Columbus 

and Chillicothe streets, and Critz's plat consisted of 32 lots, all 
5x10 rods. It was a station on the stage line from Columbus 
to Cincinnati, and had at that time two good taverns. They were 
the Dan Johnson Tavern, located at the corner where the school 
house now stands, and the old "Uncle Hilly" Smith Tavern, 
which was later the Armstrong Tavern, now known as the Miami 
House. When "Uncle Hilly" Smith first run the tavern it was 
in a log house, which later was torn down and the frame build- 
ing now known as the Miami House was bnilt. After the 

regime of "Uncle Billy" Smith, David Armstrong run the Arm- 
strong Tavern for a great many years. 

Prior to these two taverns, there was another one known as 
Shockley's Tavern, located on the lot now occupied by John S. 
Brown's residence. In front of it was a large sign on a high 
pole containing the in formation that it was the Shockley Tavern. 

hist «;i-t of this, .,n the same lot. was Shockley's tanyard. The 

tavern was a small one-story building, and I afterward went 
hool in one of the rooms. The owner of this tavern was 
the father of Clement Shockley. who livid near South S 
until his death, and was one of the wealthiest men in the country. 

A man by the name of Surlol kept the firsl store here in a 

hewn log house. \ man 1>\ the name of Besl was the firsl 

tavern keeper here. ( >M Uncle Ephriam Vance was the second, 

Mr.Shocklev. father of Clement, the third. Uncle l'.illv Smith 



was the fourth and David Armstrong the fifth. These men 
were all in business here while the stage coaches were running. 

Robert Houston was the first resident doctor. Eli Adams 
the first shoemaker. 

In [828 the first Methodist Church was built on the ground 
between our present Methodist Episcopal Church and the old 
graveyard. It was a frame one-story building; I remember 
it well. 

Rhodes, Gatch and Williams were our early preachers. 
Isaac Davisson was the firsl class-leader. The first sermon was 
preached here by a circuit preacher named Trader in [815 in 
the cabin of Jeremiah Sutton. The first regular religious ser- 
vices here were held m [saac Davisson's cabin. James Woosley 
built the first two-storj frame dwelling house and Philip Hedrick 
built the first brick dwelling house. I saw this brick house 
burn to the ground when I was a boy. 

The first census was taken here in 1S40. and I was included. 
being a very small boy. We had then, including Smith Charles- 
ton and vicinity, a population of just two hundred and fort) 
people. 1 don't know how far out into the country they went 
to get this number. 

( >nr first school house was one stor) built of logs with "Id- 
time stick chimney and had an immense fireplace. The wood 
was cut in long large logs and one end was put in to burn while 
the other end lay on the hearth, and the teacher would feed the 
fire as the lire end burned off by pushing up the logs into the 
fire. This house was built out in the woods near a log dwelling 
on the east side of Chillicothe streel a little north of where our 
postoffice is now situated, on the lot where Charlie Smith now 
lues. I know two old persons who went to school in that log 
school house. Moses Tierce was the first teacher. 1 remember 
him well when he was an old man. 

When I was a small boy all the places we had in town for 
entertainments, show's, etc.. was the dining room of the "Id 
Dan Johnson Tavern, after the tables were all taken out. They 
abo used John Pierce's upper room for a hall in his old carding 
machine ami woolen mill. 1 have attended shows in both p] 
Then, later on. Isaac Paisl built the Paullin corner building an I 
we thought at that time we had a ver\ large hall. 

Th.' Catholics used this hall for some time for their meet- 
This reminds me of an incident, so 1 will give you my 
experience at that tune. < >ne Sunday 1 went to Paist's Hall to 
attend Catholic services. 1 went early and took a seal in the 
back of the hall. The services lasted for what 1 thought a long 
time. S<> 1 concluded 1 would go home. 1 started and before 



I had gone very far towards the door one old Iri-h lady had her 
foot out in the passway. I did not see it an 1 -topped on it; 
that made her mad and she struck me in the back with her fist, 
knocking me over into another old lady's lap. I got up again 
and hiked for the door, got out and stayed out. 

Charles and Frank Warrington in the early day- had a 
tinshop on the east side of Columbus street near the Holmes & 
Jones dry goods store. That is where the people got their tin 
lamps made to order to burn lard and grease with a rag wick. 
My father had two in use that were made at this shop. Charles 
Warrington later on was a Methodist preacher. He was the 
father of Judge John W. Warrington, William O.. now Justice 
of the Peace, Attorney Charles B. and Mrs. Cyrus Griffith. 

Charles T. Roe, Edward Highwood and Michael Way were 
among our early shoemakers. 

G. F. Sweet and John Dale were our early tailors. They 
had a shop in an up-stairs room in a frame house on the north 
side of Columbus street. 

In [852 R. B. Reeder had a grocery in the last house on 
the west side of North Chillicothe street, just south of the creek, 
and opposite Mrs. Sullivan's residence. 

Reeder & Harrington, R. B. Reeder and Henry Harrington, 
had a grocery in the early days in a two-story frame building 
on the south side of Columbus street, near where Mrs. Lambing 

now li\ 1 

Charles Sprague had a blacksmith shop for many years 
where Harry Vmce's shop now stands. 

John Bolen had a horseshoeing -hop lure for many years. 

Thomas R. Norton had a dry goods -tore in the Edwards 
corner For years. Later on he was Treasurer of Clark County. 

Joe Couple- had a bakery for several years in the building 
v., tub of the Paullin corner on Chillicothe street. 

Edward Merritl had a carriage -hop in the building that 
Prank Warrington used for a tin-hop. on the east side of Chilli- 
cothe sti 

Edward Edwards was our old-time contractor and builder 
for more than fifty year-. He built the mosl of our fine build- 
ings, including the Cyrus Ball man-ion; also built many fine 
houses ui London, Springfield and some in Columbus. 

r Smith was the lir-t teacher in the little brick country 

school house on William^ street, and John Miller, teacher and 
surveyor, was the second teacher there. This house is -till 
standing, ami in use a- a dwelling. 

10 



Directly opposite Carr's livery stable was the livery stable 
run by Pat Corrigan, and one of the local great men used to 
play cards in the haymow with the darkies — and skinned them, 
too. Near the site of Mrs. Laura Cheney's residence was a 
sawmill, and the lumber from which Mrs. Cheney's house was 
built was sawed by that mill. 

Jim and Joe Sampson had a dry goods -tore in the old 
Rankin corner for many year-. Later on Thurkield had a -tore 
in the same room where Prank R. Murray now ha- hi- grocery. 

South Charleston was incorporated a- a town about [849. 
Joseph S. Peat, an Englishman, was our first Mayor and James 
Thacker was our first Marshal. ( well remember when he would 
make our crowd of hoy- hike for home when we played fo 
the streets after night and made too much noise. When he 
would -tart after us some boy would yell. "Jim Thacker will 
get you," hut we were always too quick for him. Our other 
early Marshals were !•'. C. Coffin, L'ncle Isaac Hedrick and 
Tom Vance. In later years we had for Mayor, Michael Way. 
Mr. Updegrove, \V. I. Hudson and K. S. Steinman. Uncle 
[saac Hedrick served as Constable here for more than forty 
years. The office at that time was no sinecure either, hut he 
was fearless. 

While the allusions made to the hostelries in existence in 
the early lay- -peak of them as hotel-, one of our oldest resi- 
dents laughingly -aid that "there were no hotel-, they were 
taverns." One of the historic taverns which had been in exist- 
ence for a number of years before the Dan Johnson and "Uncle 
Lilly" Smith Taverns was the old Willi- Tavern. This old build- 
ing of rough l<>i, r - ha- often sheltered Tom Corwin and Henry 
Clay on their trip- to Columbus to attend the sessions of the 
Legislature. It was situated on the south side of the old Xenia 
mud road, and had one feature which indelibly engraved it upon 
the memory. Tin- was a room prepared for the lodging "i" 
federal prisoners on their way to the penitentiary at Columbus, 
an 1 fitted up for a jail, with windows and doors barred and 
bolted. 

In the possession of Mr-. I'M ('.ram there is today an old 
coffee pot and turkey dish which did service at the Willi- Tavern 
in the day- of Tom Corwin. Henry Clay and other celebrities 
of that period, whose presence on tin- table did much to add 
to the good cheer and fellowship prevailing at that time. 

There was another tavern and stage station four miles 
of South Charleston, owned and run for many year- by Abraham 
Cramer. It may seem strange that there would he taverns so 
close to each other, hut the conditions of the road- at that time 
often made a four mile journey a task of considerable magni- 
tude. 

11 



The business interests of the village consisted of Shockley's 
tanyard, John Pierce's carding machine and a wool carding ma- 
chine and grist mill combined owned by Edward William-, a 
preacher who was not dependent upon free will offerings for his 
support, and who doubtless mixed industry with religion. This 
mill was situated on the lot where Jennie Sweet'- residence now 

Stands, and the mill-tone- are now u-ed by Mi-- Sweet a- back 
steps. On tin- lot was also a brickyard, and over in the east end 
of town was the saw-mill -poken of before. 

I have pleasant recollections of playing around the vat- of 
the old tanyard. and of riding on tread wheels of both of the 
carding machine- and mill. The power for all these infant in- 
dustries was furnished by faithful horses on tread wheels. 

Along about this time, when I was quite -mall, I got lost on 
Williams street, and. while I did not know it. was restored to my 
home by my future father-in-law, G. F. Sweet. 

Other business interests were Rufus Rutnam's grocery, 

Charles I'ai-t's general -tore. S. J. Peters' blacksmith shop, Wil- 
liam Pringle's dry goeds store, James Thacker's wagon shop, 
Joshua D. Truitt's carpenter shop and lumber yard. Edward 
Edward's carpenter -hop. William L. Warner, cabinet maker and 

undertaker. In the Edwards corner wa- the dry g 1- -tore of 

John and Albert Rankin, and over the door wa- a big sign, "I. & 
A. Rankin, Dry Goods." 

At the point between the Clifton road and Columbu- street 
stood Ed. Garrett'- blacksmith shop. Garrett made a specialty 
of -hoeing mules and oxen. Mules were -hod by hoisting them 
off the floor, and letting one foot loose at a time. 1 have seen 
• '.arret! shoe main a mule, the OX at that time being one of the 
most important dome-tic animal-. Down the road on West Co- 
lumbus Street wa- the tanyard of Michael and Thomas Jones. 
David Morgan was justice of the peace, and Michael Way did the 
cobbling for the village. Just easl of Chiilicothe street was 
Holmes & Jones' drv goods -tore. John T. Jeffers' -hoe -hop. 

where E. G. Coffin learned hi- trade in [848-9; a tailor -hop and 

the postoffice run by John Bussard, lame- Bennett's blacksmith 

shop and Crispin Smith'- dry goods Store. There wen' two 

barber shops, ;it different period., the first run by Clark Thomas, 

a mulatto barber, who left here in '40 during the California gold 

craze, wa- shipwrecked, but saved and went to Australia, where 

he died at .111 advanced agC. The -hop was located in the room 
now occupied hv Dr. Collin- a- an office. Later on in the -ame 
room, Andy Manley, an Indian, ran a barber -hop for many 

At the time of the Presidential campaign in 1S40. a pole 
ed in South Charleston in the center of the square - 



where the old tavern and Paullin's corner now stands. On the 
top of tin- pole was a keg or barrel on which was marked "Hard 
Cider". Below this hand was a sign nailed to the pole and on 
which was a hand pointing east, and the words "To Kinderhook, 
500 miles". Kinderhook was where Martin Van Buren lived. 

An incident occurred in the store of Charles Paisl winch 
involved a negro, a plug hat, a roll of butter, a red-hot stove and 
Mr. Paist. The negro went into the back room for some article. 
and while there stole the roll of butter. Having no place to 
conceal it he put the roll in his plug hat, and coming out into 
the front of the store ^at down by the- stove so as not to appear 
t< 11 1 hurried. 

Mr. Paist discovered his loss, and also suspicioned it- loca- 
tion, and detaining the negro upon various pretexts fired up the 
stove until it became so hot that the butter melted and ran down 
the negro's head and face in greasy streams. The negro finally 
made hi- escape in a well-greased condition. 

Putnam's grocery was in an old log house on the cornet- 
opposite the Miami House. The business -rctinii of the village 
was located on Columbus street, between Church street and the 
Jamestown road. On the Edwards corner, in a little room on 
Chillicothe street. Asbury Houston ran the postoffice tor a num- 
ber of years. 

At about this stage of the development of the village I had 
for a playfellow one summer Fred Stowe, son of Harriet Beecher 
Stowe, who came here with his governess on a visit, and had a 

-real time trying to catch turtles and snakes along the creek. 

Near the old Willis Tavern was a corduroy road made of 
poles and logs winch ran through a maple swamp for over a 
hundred yards which would have broken the heart of the modern 
auto tourist and would have eliminated the necessity for 
legislation. 

On the north side of Columbus street was Greenfield 
Dooley's clothing store, the ofti.es of Dr. Roberl Houston and 
Dr. !■'.. T. Collins, the harness shop of Thos. 1 ; . Houston, father 
of I.. 11.. E. I '. and Poster I'.. Houston. Asbury Houston was 
at one time Justice of the Peace, and had his office on Columbus 
street. John llcikell had a grocer) on Main street, and Khcr 
had a grocery on Chillicothe street at the corner, near 
Luckey's store. I remember when Samuel Harvey, t'atl 
lames s. Harvey, ran a grocery in Dr. Collins' of] 

Travel and traffic was by stage and wagon, and when the 
sound of the driver's horn was heard the daily excitement com- 
menced. At this early date a trip of fifty miles was an under- 
taking, vet many <<\ the Charleston merchants made annual 

13 



trips to Philadelphia by stage and on horseback to purchase 
goods. Later on, when civilization began to develop the travel- 
ing salesman, most of these salesmen made their trips carry- 
in- their samples on horseback. 

1 remember the first appearance of the midget, Tom Thumb, 
in this vicinity. He came in on a stage coach, and when the 
Stage cadi Mopped the man with Tom Thumb picked him up 
on his hand, and with Tom Thumb grasping the collar of his 
coat, carried him into the tavern. Tom Thumb's right name 
was Charles Stratton, and he created quite an excitement in the 
village when he stopped at the tavern. What impressed me most 
about Tom Thumb was the size of his diminutive hoots. They 
were polished to perfection. 

At one time hack in the 50's I clerked in a grocery at the 
corner by Luckey's store, and while talking with Dr. Wash 
Atkinson, Uncle Joe Winslow, father of Henry Winslow, came 

in. Dr. Atkinson said. "Uncle Joe, if yon will suck three dozen 
eggs I will pay for the eggs and give yon a quarter besides." 
Uncle foe said to come on with them, and without moving from 
-at delivered all the goods on the contract, and collected 
the money. 

Where Harry Vince's blacksmith shop now stands Bill Ely 
had a blacksmith shop in a frame building in the early 40's. 
Adjoining this shop was another frame building used 1>\ Paist 

>mpany for packing pork. Very few people know of the 
existence of such a business in Charleston, but Paist & Com- 
pany ran their business Up until 1S50. when the last pork was 
packed. 

During this early period merchants depended upon Xat 
Moss with his six-horse team and big wagon for the transporta- 
tion of merchandise from Columbus and Cincinnati. Moss took 
greal pride in his outfit and kept his team and wagon in the best 

condition. Each horse was equipped with hells over the hames, 
and upon his approach to town these hells gave cheerful warning, 
the boys flocking in droves t,, see the handsome team and 
big wagon, the wheels of which had hubs nearly as large :is a 
flour barrel. The principal items of merchandise trans] 

Orleans molasses, In-own sugar, staple groceries and dry 

During this earl) period Samuel Harvey, father .if James 
S. Harvey, was a surveyor and taughl school in this neighbor- 

1 le was one of the firsl persons to 

publish an arithmetic, and up until a few years ago his descend- 
ants had a copy of the first edition. 

There were few buggies or carriages in Charleston at this 
time. Ownership of such vehicles denoted great wealth. 1 

it 



remember three old-time carriages, heavy, cumbersome affairs, 
with leather springs, owned by Thomas Merrit, Isaiah I hint and 
Dr. Robert Houston. The common nick' of travel for both 
nun and women was either by big two-horse wagon or on horse- 
back. The main road was the Columbus an 1 Xenia mud i 
and was a little smith of the present Xenia pike, passing th< 
(if the old Willis Tavern, which was situated about two miles 
west of town on what is now the Joe Butcher farm. 

It was not an unusual sight to see covered prairie schooners 
containing groups of families on their way to Indiana, Illinois 
and [owa. Tin- road also was used by drovers in driving fat 
cattle to Pennsylvania markets. I have seen thousands of cattle 
driven along tin- road, all going over the mountains into Penn 
sylvania. 

Tin- meat market of those days was on wheels, and Uncle 
Obie Davisson enjoyed a monopoly on this trade. Me drove 
old Jack, a little brown, string halt horse, and many was the 
pound of meat that was delivered by these two. Tin- was be- 
fore the day of the meat trust and refrigerator car. As an 
instance of the impression little things make. I remember old 
Jack distinctly, his color and other peculiarities. 

The Columbus and Xenia pike was surveyed in [839 b) 
Samuel Harvey, who was assisted by Dr. Robert Houston. The 
pike was finished about [842. The completion of this pike made 
travel very much easier. This was followed about seven years 
by the Little Miami Railroad. When the railroad was 
completed to Pugsley's crossing 1 and a dozen or more ho 
one cold winter day in a very dee]) snow walked out to the . 
ing to see the "iron hor To say that our eye- popped out 

i- putting it mildly, and many persons at that time never dreamed 
of this stretch of track forming a link in the greatest transpor- 
tation system the world has ever seen. Train- following each 
other ten minutes apart on double track- at the rate 
mile- an hour was beyond the wildest stretch of imagination. 
The name of tin'- locomotive was the Brooks, and was an old- 
time wood burner. < 1 yard- for supplying the 
engine with fuel was located here, and hundreds of cord 

! were delivered here to carry on the railroad traffic. When 
the track was completed to Charlestown I accompanied a large 
party from here to Xenia in an open gravel car. It was the 
dead of winter, and most <>i the party nearh ft 

'I'he first animal show wa- exhibited on my father'- lot, 
just back of and adjoining S. II. Carr's home. It was tl 
Van Amberg -how, and it drew a big crowd. While the | 
were looking at the animal-, and giving the monkey- and ele- 
phant- n rake-; and apple-, old General Harrod, Grand- 
father of W'm. Harrod, put some fine apples in hi- straw hat 



and offered them to the elephant. The elephant wound his 

trunk around the hat and took in hat and apples all in one bite. 

Another source of entertainment was the camp meeting at Isaac 

json's, a short distance west of where G. M. Chase now 

lives, "u the south side of the Columbus pike. The people used 
to gather in great throngs to hear the preachers of those days 
deliver sermons of great orthodoxy, and many were the wonder- 
ful conversions witnessed. 

Banking facilities were very scarce. Xenia had the only 
hank in this neighborhood, and if anyone ha 1 occasion to go to 
hank it meant a trip to Xenia. Springfield and London banks 
were established later, but that was of no greater benefit to our 
residents. The practice of hiding money in unsuspected places 
obtained to a great degree. My grandfather hid his in several 
places about the barn and house. After my grandfather's death, 
the family -old a hogshead of seed to a neighbor who when he 
came to take away the seed found over S200 in silver. No 
question of owner-hip arose, and the money was at once returne 1 
to the family. Many other unusual places for hiding money 
were discovered. 

Thing- that are now considered a- relic- were of great 
utility at that time. Candle molds and spinning wheel- each 
tilled the most important want- in the household. Tallow can- 
lies were followed by tin lamps, in which lard, oil or grease 
were Used. And these lamp- were not made for the market. 
If a person wanted a tin lamp it had to be ordered from the 
tinner. Among the curio- of that time was the old tin lantern 
punctured with hole- to allow the feeble rays ^\ a tallow candle 
to dicker through. But it afforded light according to the de- 
mands upon it. 

Then followed the era of coal oil. But at such a price as 
to he prohibitive. 1 handled the first lot ><i coal oil that came 
to Charleston. It came in a wooden jacket [o-gallon tin can. 
had a yellow color, aboul the same odor a- it has now. an 1 sold 
for Si. 40 a gallon. Coincident with the pric I may be 

mentioned the price of other commodities. 1 have carried a 
pair of scissors m my vest pocket constantly for almosl fifty 
years which ha- cut yard- of calico at ;< » cents, heavy unbleached 
muslin at So cents, and bed ticking at Si a yard Yellow mo- 

sugar -oil at 30 cent- a pound, green coffee at 60 cent-. 
2.40. But eggs sold a- low a- three dozen for a quarter, 

butter at [1 1 ceiitS. 

An anecdote current at that time wa- one on I'ncle lh.-ea 

Harrison, whose libation- often caused him to lay down mosl 
any place and sleep off the effect-. On one trip to Springfield 

I'ncle rTosea got tighl and laid lown on the -idewalk and went 
to sleep. Some of the boys found him and turned a -tore h>\ 

r him. then laid around to watch developments. 

16 



The firsl indication of Uncle Hosea's return to life was a 
rap "it the box. Then his voice could be heard, "Where am I?" 
Then another rap, and "I'm dead, and buried for sure, and just 
found it out." 

Uncle Hosea afterward lefl the neighborhood, and I was 
informed that he reformed and went to preaching. 

In [853 Charlestown had an Indian show under canvas, on 
what was then called the commons. The commons was lo 
where the town hall now stands, and the time was shortly after 
Chillicothe street had been opened up from Barmann's corner 
to the Houston store. One of the scenes enacted in the [ndian 
show was where Pocohontas saved the life of Captain John 
Smith. The performance was very realistic, and made quite 
an impressii m 1 m 1 >ur residents. 

Very few matches were used. The matches were made in 
square blocks, so one could pull one off the block and almost 
be suffocated by the strong smell of sulphur. The prevalent 
method of starting a fire was to borrow a shovel full of live 
coals from a neighbor, and then hustle home before they died 
out. 

Smith Charleston was on the underground railroad during 
slaver) days. One of the stations was located about two and 
one-half mile- south of town, where escaping slaves were hid- 
den until it was safe for them to proceed on their journey to 
freedom. This fact was responsible for an exciting riot in the 
village in the fifties, when a slave, who had made his escape was 
recaptured at about where Jas. I.andaker lives. The Abolition- 
ists of the community arose enmasse, and had quite a fight at that 
point, a number of shots being exchanged, but no one was killed, 
the casualties being limited to one man having been -hot in the 
arm. 

The trial was held m Justice Asbury Houston's court in a 
two-story building on Columbus street. The court room was 
packed by sympathizers of the anti-slavery cause, and the slave 
finally made his escape. 1 was an eye-witness to the occur- 
rences. 

About this time. John Cooper, a runaway slave, who ha 1 

married and settled lure, had a dream in winch it was revealed 
to hun that slave hunter- were on hi- track. This dream made 
such an impression that Cooper started for Canada a- soon as 

. n up m the morning. That same day. at about noon. 

per's "M master and a posse of officers came here on a search 
for hun. lie escaped to Canada, and sent for his family, who 
joined him there, lie stayed in Canada until after the war. and 
then returned here, taking up hi- abode in the same cabin ho 
hail left with such haste a- a result of hi- dream. 

I made several trips to Columbus in 1854 and -aw the state 

17 



prisoners working on the foundation of the state house building. 
J saw the prisoners march to and from their work like flock 
sheep, in gangs of 50, each gang guarded by several heavily armed 
men. 

Land values were an uncertain quantity. I was told by 
a man that the land where the Arcade building in Springfield now 
stands was offered him for a cow. Another man was offered the 
ground to cancel a small debt. Both offers were refused. 

When the first sidewalks of gravel were laid, the villagers 
thought they were tine, but in the course of time, gravel was 
succeeded by boards, hoard- by brick, and brick by cement. 1 
helped my father set out the first shade tree on the sidewalks in 
the town. This tree was set out in front of the old Reeder 
home. Later several shade trees wen- set out by us on the si le- 
walk in front of Isaac Paist's property. One of these shade 
tree- i- -till standing, the large one between the present quarters 
of the Citizen's Bank and Frank McMahon's store. 

The first experiment with ] lacking ice in the village was 
regarded a- the essence of foolishness. Everybody -aid that it 
wa- impossible to keep it through the summer. But the man 
who packed the ice was the only member of the Commet 
Club at that time, and the results vindicated his judgment. 

Wild turkey- were plentiful around here, and many a party 

with horses and dogs have I -ecu. They would -tart up a flock 

of turkeys, drive them to an open field, where the dogs were 
trained to stay under the turkey- when they dew until ex- 
hausted; and then when they dropped the dogs would get them. 

Prior to [847 the Methodists worshipped in a frame build- 
ing jusl a little south of the present brick structure. W 1- 

burning stoves were used for heating, an 1 lighl wa- furnished 
by tallow candles. ( »ld Father Sweet, my father-in-law, s< 
as janitor, and his duties included snuffing the candles. The 
candles were placed on little brackets all aroun 1 the walls, and it 
kept Mr. Sweel pretty busy during the evening service. 1 have 
in my possession an old-fashioned fool stove, which was made 

by my father for the u-e of my mother in the old Methodist 

church. My father was a cabinet-maker, and he put forth 

llenl effort ou the font Stove. It contained a compartment 

for a hot brick, which went a long way toward making winter 
church going a little comfortable. 1 have the same brick which 
contributed its share toward the furtherance of Christianity; 

it i- -till in the stOVC 

The old frame church wa- torn down and the hrick church 

now standing wa- 1 milt in 1 s 1 7 by Seth Harrison and Edward 
Edwards. \dil<\ Johnson did the hrick work on this M. E. 
church the same year. During tin- year the large bell now 

1^ 



used in the belfry was unloaded from the Nat Moss' wagon, and 
put in place in the belfry. The bell was viewed by hundreds of 
people, and it was the first church bell installed in this neigh- 
borhood. For <>^ years the old bell has been ringing forth its 
messages of joy and sorrow, and its tones have become closely 
ed with the lives of many of our citizens. 

The program of the first fair, in [850, included speaking by 
prominent men on a platform built for the occasion. < )ne of the 
principal speakers was Judge Harrold, grandfather of Seymour 
llarrold, whose speech is remembered 1>\ Uncle Jim Harvey. Mr. 
Harvey says thai Judge Nan-old advocated the improvement of 
farms, raising more live stock and grain, an 1 said thai if this 
was followed up, Clark County would become one of the great- 
esl a »unties in < 'bio. 

.Many were the fights which occurred during the early his- 
ton of the town. As a rule, however, when the battle was over, 
the participants again became friends. An amusing instance <>\ 
this pugnacity was the battle which occurred between two col- 
ored men. Uncle Ben Smith and Old Bill Fowlis, the village 
shoemaker. Uncle Ben was badly cripple 1 with "rheumatism," 
and carried a cane with a heavy knot at the handle end. In 
addition to this ailment Uncle Ben stuttered, and the com 
tion preceding the scrap was highly amusing. Fowlis had 
threatened to shoot l'ncle Hen, and one day they met in front of 
where John Brown now lives. After some preliminaries l'ncle 
Ben asked Fowlis, "Ha-ha-has yu-yu d-d-done g-g-got yu-yu 
d-ds-disolver wi-wi-wid yu-yu? in the meantime shifting bis cane 
warily s, , thai the heavy knot could be Used as a club. 
Fowlis, mad as a wet hen, shouted, "No!" 
"Th-then [-1-1*11 g-g-jesl t-t-take yu-yu zip," and suiting bis 
action to the word, struck Fowils with the knotty end of the 
cane, felling him like a beef. It took several people some time 
to bring Fowlis around, but he finally recovered, and was no 
worse for his little experience with rheumatic Uncle Ben. 

I cast my first vote for president in Dr. Collins' office in 
[860 for Abraham Lincoln. My ballot was handed to \. T. 
Paullin, who acted as one of the judges. Trior to that time the 
same room had been used as a school room during one winter 
term became of lack of room in the regular building which 1 
attended. Tbe location of the school was rather an uncertain 
quantity, and before permanent quarters bad been secured was 
held at lifferenl plao 

1 remember of seven differenl place- where I attended school. 
One ^\ my teachers was the Honorable Whitelaw Reid, whose 
first effort in pedagOg) began here. Mr. Reid was about nineteen 
years old. and wore his hair long. About tin- same time Arte- 
mus Ward was working on the local paper for a man named 

1'.' 



Wharton. Ward, whose real name was Charles R Brown, 
boarded at the hotel on the corner of Woodward avenue and 
ChiUicothe street, which was one of the fir>t buildings erected 
after the opening of ChiUicothe street to the railroad. Gilbert 
Pierce was the first proprietor of the hotel, and continued to run 
the tavern until his death. 

Owing to the inability or failure of the ghost to walk, 
Ward'- heard bill became so high that he had to get out from 
under it. After achieving fame and wealth from his literary 
productions, Mr. War 1 came back to Charlestown, and learning 
the whereabouts of Mrs. Pierce, went to her and paid the bill 
with a good rate of interest included. 

I remember Ward very well, as while clerking in a >t"re 1 
sold Ward nearly all of his tohacco and other article- needed. 

In my possession are quite a number of valuable relics, one 
of which i- a shoe hammer which was carried by my great- 
grandfather, Jacob Reeder, through the Revolutionary war. and 
did it- humble duty at Valley Forge men ling the -hoe- of the 
soldiers. This hammer came down in direct descent to me from 
it- original owner: ami aside from it- value as an historic relic 
ha- the adde 1 value of association. Jacob Reeder fought through 
the entire Revolutionary war a- a soldier, and when in camp 
used his idle time mending the other soldiers' -hoe-. 

Another relic which i- highly prized by me i- a fan and case 
which was sent to my grandmother by her father. Joseph Alston, 
from St. Pierre. Martinique, in 1770. The fan is covered with 
-(•lid gold spangles, and i- over [30 years old. The fan has 
been in the continuous possession of the family ever since its 
arrival in this country in care of Captain Bush, who wa- in 
command of the vessel upon which it arrived. 

Another relic of historic \aluc i- a peace pipe which was 

found on a battlefield of the Black Hawk Indian war in Illinois 
by a cousin of mine, who ploughed it up on hi- farm. This was 
the war in which Abraham Lincoln had command of a company 
of soldiers. The peace pipe ha- it- war-like feature in a toma- 
hawk which form- a part of ; t. The pipe part i- -till in . 
working order, a- cm he attested by several mill who have 
■ 1 it- merit-. 

Among tin earl) pioneers well known to me. and many 
of whom have been dead for fifty years are, Jesse Griffith, John 
Miskey Charles Smith. Father Morris, Richard Cramer, Thomas 
Mattin-on. Thomas Merritt, Joseph Houston, grandfather of 
I.. II.. E. 1 >. an 1 F. P.. Houston; lame- Murray, George 
Murray, Dr. Layboume and Dr. Gillette, two of the pioneer 
physicians in Clark County; Peter Buffenbarger, George Buf- 
fenbarger, Isaiah Holloway, Joseph Butcher, Isaac Newcom, 
Jonathan Smith. Erasmus Jones, Jesse Wise, Joshua Hayward, 



Samuel Arthur, Isaac Warner, Edward Wildman, Dr. Cook, of 
Selma; Elijah Anderson, Joshua, Pherlim, Caleb and Seth Har- 
rison, Isaac, Lewis and John Hedrick, Joseph and Thomas 
Whitridge; Moses Pierce, Gilbert Pierce, John Heiskell, 
John Pierce, John Nolan, Hugh Orr, William Coop- 
er, Peter Slaughter, David Selsor, Jonathan Cheney, 
Benjamin and William Rowand; Judge Harrold, Gen- 
eral Harrod, the Harper brothers, the Brock brothers, Linson 
brothers, and Gordin brothers, Stephen Maxey, who was Justice 
of the Peace; Jeremiah Botkin, Edmund Hill, Inis Ellsworth, 
John Heaton, Isaiah Hunt, Robinson Florence, Tine Si 
Robert Chenoweth, Henry Chenoweth, Jonathan Pierce, James 
Pringle, James Rankin, James White, James Woosley, Ephraim 
Vance, Mother McCollum, Grandmother Murray. Granny 
Warner, with her good ginger cakes; Isaac Davisson, 
David l.arkin. Phineas Stratton, Dr. Roberl Houston, Abel 
Walker, John Packer, Samuel Ramsey, Jesse Pancake, William 
I.. Warner. Aunt Lizzie Warner. William Harpole, John Correll, 
Charlotte Pratt, Samuel Thomas, Thomas Lott, John Layboume, 
Isaac Paist, Jacob Critz, son of Conrad iSritz. who laid out the 
original plat of Charlestown (not Charleston), now South 
Chariest m. 

A partial list of people who have lived in or near South 
Charleston, Ohio, within the last sixty or seventy years, all 
deceased. 1 well remember them all. 

Edward Edwards, lame- P. Edwards, Hill Edwards, Win. 
Edwards, Frank Mill, Elwell Pratt, David Pratt, John Dobson, 
John Hopkins, Lanson Male. Walter Hopkins, Dick Haslem, 
Barney Baker, Elam Johnson, Thos. Hemphill, Calderwood Hill. 
Wm. Hill, Jas. Bailey, liverman; Geo. Botkin. Robt. Clark David 
M. Clark. Owen Riley, John Kinsella, Peter McQuade, Wm. 
Athey, George Bennett, Geo. Weymouth, Wm. Weymouth, Robt. 
Thorp. Darius Sprague, Leonard I'.. Sprague, Cephas Pancake, 
John Pancake, John McCollum, Sr., Alex Rowand, Amos Briggs, 
George Smith. Daniel O. Heiskell, Noah Brewington, \le\ 
them. John Peck, William Comrie, Putman Gaffield, Geo. Wat- 
son, Wm. Watson, \. T. Paullin, David Vance, John McKinney, 
Jos. Fisher, Thos. F. Ilon-ton. Wm. D. Pierce, Edward I' 
Jacob Pierce, Simeon Warner. Curency Arthur, lame- Hawkins, 
John T. Maxey, John W. Thomas, lame- Thomas, Isaac Thomas, 
]<^. Thomas, Kendall I'. Truitt, Dr. Bailey, Wm. i 
Thomas Thorp. Thos. Cummings, David Pringle, Jam' 
Pringle, lame- Pringle, Abner Heaton, Abraham Heaton, G 
Gilroy, Jacob Kizer, Win. Steward. Samuel Canady, Wm. 
Copeland, Perr) Larkin, Levi Atkinson, Isaac Atkinson, (ohn 
Butcher, Edward Merritt, Geo. W. Buffenbarger, Paulser Nag- 
ley, Chris Truitt, John O'Brian, Patrick Donaho, [eptha Har- 
ro I. Matthew Mattinson, Thomas Mattinson, Jack Nfattinson, 

21 



Win. Mattinson, Elijah Woosley, Thomas Woosley, Joshua 
Woosley, David Woosley, Benj. Woosley, Thomas Bown, Absa- 
lom Griffith, Allen Critz, Win. Clemmans, Michael Sullivan, 
Gates Tibbies, Cyrus Griffith, Mathias Smith, Parmer John 
Smith, John Chenoweth, Win. II. Brown, Win. Dingess, Har- 
mon Anderson, [esse Stroupe, David Stroupe, Win. Stroupe, 
Alex. Waddle, Samuel Waddle, Alex. Waddle, Jr.. John Wad- 
dle Win. Carey, Daniel Bateman, Win. Atkinson, Oliver Atkin- 
son, Dr. Wash. Atkinson, Dr. J. M. tmmel, G. W. Jones, J. M. 
Jones, Dr. Solon Curtice, Dr. Steele, Dr. Eiaight, Dr. M. I.. 
Houston, Dr. E. T. Collins, Dr. A. K. Wilson, John Rankin, Wm. 
Wilhide, Sanford Drake, Wm. Holmes, [bhn Holmes, John 
Holmes, Jr., Griffith 1*. Sweet, Milton Clark, W. F. Herbert. Geo. 
Herbert, Wm. E. Ackley, John Dale, Jacob Dale. John Coss, 
Samuel Coss, David Coss, Henry Chenoweth, Geo. Bricker, John 
Wentz, Den Snively, Gideon Landaker, Daniel Landaker, Isaac 
Landaker, Jacob Morningstar, Geo. F. Hempleman, Levi Jones, 
Sr., Tod Buffenbarger, Win. Davisson, lohn Hathaway, |ohn 
William^. John McCollum, Jr.. Russell B. McCollum, Seth Mc- 
Collum, Wm. I. Hudson, John D. Reeder, Dr. A. D. Pancake, 

John Reeder, Enos Reeder, lame- Reeder, True-dale Reeder. R. 
B. Reeder. Lewis Stratton," E. G. Coffin, John Stratum. Ed. 
Highwood, Jason Loper, Abraham Cramer, James Cramer. Cyrus 
Hunt. Akin Kelso, Marion Slaughter, John Slaughter, lame- 
Sweeney, Frank Hornick, Samuel Lookabaugh, George Peefer, 
Wm. W. Pringle, Lawrence Heiskell, Roberl Collins, Geo. I '-well 
Warrington, John Steinman, Kennetl Landaker, Gideon Land- 
aker. Jr., Martin Jones, Milton lone-. Edward lone-. Marcus 
Jones, John Flannigan, Michael Scott, Joseph Scott, Isaac Ed- 
wards, Ed. Woosley, Charlie Hedrick, Adam Hedrick, William 
Hedrick, Joshua Hedrick. Charles Hick-. Darley Pierce, Charles 
Pierce, Chandler I'ierce. Erdy Wentz, Lewellyn McCollum, Wm. 
McCollum. Pre-. Ilon-ton, George Shinn, I. Warner Harvey, 

Seth \tkin-on, ( >wnie McMahon, William True-dale. Sr.. Wil- 
liam Truesdale, Jr.. Jerry Yeazell, Michael Sheiry, John Most- 
grove, Mhcrt Mclntire, John Heiskell, Jr., Patrick Conway, 
Michael Conway, Edward Corrigan, John Cramer, Wm. Botkin, 
! Vanhorn, rsaac Crispin, John Kelso, J. P.; James Gallagher, 
Tim Murphy, Barnej Crackey McMahon. Enoch lone-. Pi 

Wm. Harrold, Wm. Harpole, Peter Har- 
pole.Thos. Murphy, Jam.- Hall, Horace Whitridge, \. G. Pratt. 
Tom Hine-. Michael Liedigh, undertaker; E. S. Steinman. ex- 
Mayor; Frank Harvey, Sr.. Mex. Hemphill, lame- Doster, Chas. 
! eon II lion-ton, Edwin D. Houston, Mungo Cumrie, 
Philip Hedrick, Curly Gillett, Henry Rennett, roe Bennett, James 
W. Griffith, lohn Griffith, Lewi- 1. Reeder, Mode Pierce, John 
Pie, McMillen, Rev. Capt. N. S. Smith. Mungo Murray, 

Robt. Chenoweth. Tr.. John Price. Sr.. Robt Tindall. Chas. 

Landaker. lohn 11. Way, Michael Way, Jonathan Chenej , I 



Littler, Win. Baldwin, Stanley Baldwin, Newton Baldwin, John 
Baldwin, Jehu Atkinson, A. I'. Gatch, Geo. Truitt, T. James 
Hicks, Milt Young, Bur Hedrick, Wes Hathaway. 



Ii does not seem to me very long ago since the first person 
Mr. William Mattinson, was buried in our Greenlawn Cemetery, 
north of town. Now there arc many hundreds buried there. 
It shows how East our people arc passing to th< i In n.l. 

Boys who went with me to see the first train at Pugley's 
en issing, in [849 : 

Ham William-. Lew Hedrick, Jim Griffith, John Stratton, 
Mark Houston, Alex. Snedaker, Henry Hedrick, Ben Sweet, 
Samuel Carey. 

( >ld time Colored Citizens : 

Uucle George and Aunt Nellie Johnson, Henry Bray, Tap- 
ley I '.ray. Tom Bray, Bill Bray, Bill Fowlis, Ben Smith. Mile- 
White, Jim Trow. John White. Aunt Lucy Bell, Aus Francis, 
barber; Garretl Morgan, blacksmith; Hartford Mitchell, barber; 
Win. Mitchell. Al. Blair, Ceo. Fields, James Walker. Sp< 
Coleman, Nelson Hines, Joe Win-low. Alex. Harris, John Jen- 
nings, William Colwell, Billy Austin, Earl Colwell. 

( )1<1 Uncle George Johnson and wife were among the firsl 
colored people to settle here in the early lay-. They lived a few- 
mile.- east of town and George had a rough experience. One 
night a man on horseback -topped at their cabin and asked 
George to keep himself and horse over night. George agreed 
t • • care for the stranger and his horse. Before morning some 
officers found the man and horse at Johnsons. They took the 
horse and arrested the horse thief, and Uncle George also for 
harboring a horse thief and -cut them both to tl tiary. 

Uncle George was innocent of any wrong in I . but had 

rve hi- time in the penitentiary. IK' then, with hi- wife. 
Aunt Nellie, moved to town and lived there for many years after. 

My acquaintance with Charlestown families often covers 
the ti fth and sixth generations. 

Nol many people now living have any recollection of 01 
the government regulations requiring all ablebodied men over [8 
and under 45 years of ag ther at a common rendezvous 

one day each year for the purpose of military training. 

Uncle lame- Harvey i- probably the only living resident here 
who attended these muster-day meetings, which were inaugu- 
rated about [812 and continued until the early 40's. The pur- 
pose of the meetings were to familiarize the men witli the 
manual of arm-, ami to enable them ti foot movement-. 

so that upon a hasty call for volunteers, there would he at least 

23 



some semblance of d scipline. Mr. Harvey went with his father 
to the last meeting he attended. The elder Harvey, upon being 
called from the roll, told the commander that he was just over 
the age limit. Upon this fact being established the elder Harvey 
was excused, and James Harvey was called. But he escaped the 
irksome duty by being two or three years under the limit. 

Nearly all of the men had uniform-, but very feu bad guns, 
poles and long clubs doing service for the guns on the drill 
grounds. Clark County's mustering ground was ui a large field, 
containing a tine grove, about one mile southeast of Harmon}-. 

I have a distinct recollection of seeing my father return 
from the muster grounds, with his soldier clothes on. and many 
were the entertaining stnrie> told the Reeder children about 
the doings there. Col. Rufus Putnam, our old-time grocer. 
was captain of our company here that went once a year to the 
muster gri >unds to drill. 

The sparsely settled condition of the country still left much 
territory for wild animals, some of which were captured alive 
and made pets. < >ne of these was a big black bear, which was 
kept by Dan Johnson near his tavern on what is now the school 
house grounds. The bear was a great pet. an 1 was kept by Mr. 
Johnson for many years. It was killed and made a village feast. 
Coons and foxes were common pets m many families, but no 
one had the hardihood to harbor a skunk. 

I did some clerical work in the early days, among my recol- 
lections being that of making an inventory of a stock of goods 

which !•'.. G. Coffin, as constable, had levied on. it being the first 
al duty performed by Mr. Coffin, 

I was a small boj when I witnessed my first lire. The fire 
was in Joseph Houston's dwelling, and the local tire department 
was so dou getting there that the house burned down. The 
house was situated near where G. W. Luckey's bug store is now 
located. 

Savory recollections of the nroducts of the old Dutch ovens 

arise now and then, and the best bread was from my grand- 
mother'- fur place, where the bread was placed in a tin refli 
which was set bark on the hearth from the tire four or fiv< 

The bread \\ a- baked to pei fectii >n. 

Uncle Jesse Griffith was a pioneer brick manufacturer. He 

owned brick yards near when Coleman Wilhide now lives, one 

where Mrs. Laura Cheney lives, and one where Charles Diffendal 

There also lived here two ( Juaker women, bachelor maids. 

who owned the land back of where the town hall stands. One 
of tli-' sj.ter- finally wenl crazy, her hallucination being that sin- 
was a poet. Beii health she was confined to her bed, 



and one evening when Uncle Jesse Griffith called to inquire as to 
her health greeted him with the following poetic effusion: 

"I [ere I Jay all free from sin : 
Jesse come in, come in, dime in." 

I >ld Uncle John Heiskell used to employ me for a few cents 
a day t<> watch a gap in the fence near Pratt's gravel i>it. to 
keep the hogs from getting out on the road, while hauling gravel 
for the Columbus and Xenia pike. Uncle Jesse Griffith was posl 
master for many year-, ami part of the time employed |ohn R. 
Houston to carry the mail. One day when bringing the mail 
into the office, Houston was accosted by one of the men waiting 
in the lobby with. "John, are you our mail boy now?" fohn 
promptly answered, "Yes, sir. Did you think I was a female 
boy?" 

The first vehicle for road use ever used here was a spring 
wagon with a paneled bed, owned by Klwcll Pratt, who lived just 
north of town. My father used to lure the "dandy" wagon, as 
it was called, frequently, and. of course, it was an estimable 
privilege to ride in it. Bui I rode in it many time-. The ve- 
hicle was in great demand, many of the neighbors hiring il to 
make trip-. Dr. Robert Houston had a leather spring carriage 
which he u^v<\ when the roads were good, hut he generally went 
on horseback. One of hi- tine saddle horses and probably the 
pride of hi- stable, which was located on the site where Mother 
Drake now lives, was a magnificent animal, which he called 
"Wildfire." Unfortunately Dr. Houston incurred some hood- 
lum's displeasure, and in an effort to gel even with the Doctor, 
hamstrung "Wildfire." The horse was in such condition it had 
to Ik- killed. \'o one ever found out who the lastard was that 
did the work. 

The old Quaker lady wa- not the only poet in the village. 
Vnother character with poetical aspirations was David Burley. 
Burley wa- weak minded, and was possessed with an ardent 
ambition to get married. Fortunately hi- advances wer< 
pulsed, hut David poured out hi- soul in verse, and in the most 
unique place-. In the absence of human auditor- he would ad- 
dress inanimate objects, and to make hi- poetry more impressive, 
would -cratch u on -tone- and piece- of wood. Probably the 
nio-t curious place for poetic depository wa- on an old 
which 1 found in the backyard of my father*- lot : it contained the 
following inscription : 

"1 >avi 1 Burley is my name. 
\nd -ingle i< my 1 f 
But happy is the girl 

That i- to he my wife. 

David Burley." 

25 



Another character whose talents and appearance made him a 
man of note in the community was a red whiskered, red haired in- 
dividual who taught school, and answered to the name of Francis 

Flood. Id I's talent with a pen was phenominal, one of the finest 

specimens of his work being a family record which he engraved 
for the Reeder family in [843. But his gravest fault was his 
propensity for drink. He u-ol to get loaded to the guards, and 
then go away some place and sleep it off. 

It must not be lost sight of that the boys of the village 
stopped thinking of Id I's long, red hair, and it was only lack- 
Mi" opportunity which prevented him from filling the role of 
shorn lamb. But at last the time- came, and the professor, having 
gone the limit on rum, laid down in the old Methodist cemetery 
to sleep off his jag. There he was found by a number of the 
young scamps, one of whom at once secured a pair of scissors 
and unit to work Oil the flowing red locks. 

"Snip-snip," went the scissors, and the professor drowsily 
remarked, "Boys, I hear shissors." Being reassured he again 
lapsed into slumber, but was again aroused by the "snip- snip- 
snip" of the scissors. "D- n it. boys, I tell you. I do hear 
sors." lie was again reassured, but by the third awakening Ik 
was well sheared. 

PRIZE FIGHT 

Pulled off in South Charleston Withoul Vny Undue Excitement, 

and Few of < >ur Citizens Knew of It. 

While not generally known, a prize tight was pulled off in 
South Charleston. No prote t f any kind was heard, the event 
was not even noised about in sporting circles, many of whom 
would have- given a goodly price for a seat at the ringside. 

The principals were John McKinney and Big Bill Fryer. 
The only one of our citizens who witnesse 1 the battle, which was 

with the raw uns," under London prize ring rules, was 
myself, and the fighl occurred sixty- five years ago, on the pi 
site of < ireenlawn cemetery. 

Unfortunately I do not remember who the victor was, but 
as the) were both Charlestown men. the championship remained 
here. At that time I was a small hoy, and with all of a boy's 
made my way to the ringside, where the men stripped 
to the waist pummeled each other for fair. There Durse 

to the winner, nor did any motion picture men offer fabulous 
sums for pictures of the fight. Bui it was fought in the 
and the besl man won without six month's training and without 
the I the sporting editor. 

In the early days when 1 was a boy there - of woods 

near town n< I I, and the town cows, hogs and 

ran at large. 1 have made many a walk in the evening out to 



what is or was called the Hempleman (.'reck and to the Lisbon 
Creek for my father's row-. In the fall of the year the men in 
town woul 1 get all their hogs and pigs in a pen and mark them 
on one or both ears, 'flic men would meet and agree to use a 
certain car mark on their hogs. My father's mark was to cut a 
"\ " in the right ear of all his hogs and pigs. Then they would 
turn them all out on the road and very late in the fall would go 
over tin' country in the woods and hunt up their hogs and claim 
all big or little that had their mark on the ear and get them with- 
out a word. The}- would fin 1 them fat and line after eating acorns 
and hickory nuts. Then they would pen them up, lV.-d corn for 
a while to harden the fat for lard when they were in line con- 
ditii hi fi 'i" butchering. 

Old Uncle George Buffenbarger was one of our early set- 
tlers. Me owned sixteen hundred acres of tine land along the 
Kittle Miami River, about four miles west of South Charleston, 
and near the old historic Morgan Pond. Me built a brick 1 
on his farm and had port holes built in the gables, east and 
west, to watch for Indians Up an 1 down the creek. I have i 
been in this old house; there was a very fine spring of good water 
in the cellar. 

The old Morgan Pond was a greal place for the older boys 
to fish and many arc the big fish stories we heard from the boys 
who fished there. The Pond was later drained and that spoiled 
the fishing for the younger sel of boys. The older boys who 
used to fish there in the long ago were. Frank Armstrong, Albert 

ley, Ed. Dooley, Theo. Houston, Lew Stratton, Lewis 
Reeder, Antone Miskey George McCorkle, Oliver Atkinson, 
Bob Sweet. Ben Sweet, Henry Bennett, Bob Caddy, Jim 
Nat. Morgan, Ale laker, Henry Johnson, Elam 

Johnson, John Houston Ben Morgan, Jake Morgan, Rod- 
ney Morgan, Marion Tierce. Mad Pierce. Ah Griffith, 

Bates, Tom Smith. Bill Hedrick. Joe Hedrick, 
Warner, Cv Griffith, Phil. Warner, and mam 
who have been forgotten. Antone Miskey al\A k the 

cake for catching th< I and most fish. 

T ha- Buffenb 

and wife coming to town to do their trading, pass our home in 
a big two-horse wagon, driving a pair of large, line horses with 
their mane- and lails shaved like mules. He sal in from 
chair and always drove with rope lines. His wife chair 

behind him and wore a man'- silk plug hat. Tiny raised a large 
and respectable family. 

My firsl school teacher was W 
medicine later on and practi etime. He lived 

with his mother. Mrs. Kinney, in a log house, where Mrs. 
McDorman's new home now stands. When any person would 

27 



call for the doctor after night Mother Kinney would raise the 
window up stairs and say "Who's sick, who's dead, who wants 
Alfred." 

My father-in-law, Griffith F. Sweet, came here in [831, 
was married in Urbana, ( >hio, in 1832, and he and his bride came 

here over the mud roads on their wedding trip on horse back, 
settled here the same year and lived here the rest of their lives. 
My father. John Reeder, also married in [832, settled here in a 
log cabin which 1 well remember, and with his family lived 
here until his death in [869. William Davidson was married 
the same year and settled about one mile east of town on the 
farm of his father, [saac Davidson. The said I-aac David-on 
was married in \ irginia an 1 a few days later put their bed and 
a few other things on two horses and came to their new home. 
J well remember them. 

Jonathan 1'ierce. grand father of Darwin Pierce, settled here 
in iS_>i". mi the Jonathan Cheney farm, now owned by Henry E. 
Bateman, about three miles south of South Charleston, and one- 
half mile west of the Darwin Pierce farm. Jonathan Pierce 
made a specialty of raising mule- and short horn cattle, lie ami 
hi- Mm. Jacob, showed all of the thoroughbred cattle exhibite 1 at 
the first Clark County fair- held here on the east end of our 
present school house grounds in [850 and [851. This was b< 
we had a county fair in Springfield. They exhibited also at these 
fair- a lot of line mules taking several first and second prem- 
iums on cattle and mules. Darwin Tierce, then a -mall boy, took 
first premium of S1.00 on a pair of red calve- about six months 
<>ld, well trained to the yoke and -Imwn as oxen. To say that 

Darwin wa- proud don't tell it. lie showed them at our fair 
mi [851. The -tall- used at our fair- for the tine live 

stock were the fence corner-. I nele Jess Wise showed hi- tine 

chestnul sorrel Morgan stallions at our fairs. In 1849 '' u ' 
e herd of tine shorl horn cattle wa- taken t<> the tir-t State 

fair at Cleveland, Ohio, taking many premium- there. Darwin 
■ ha- the cup winch wa- awarded the Pierre herd at that 

fair. 

Jonathan Pierce, before the war. ran an underground rail 

road where he lived, just SOUth of town, and ha- helpe 1 many 
1.. freedom. Me wa- egged here in town on account of 
being an ah" ilitionist. 



Hogs were \(T\ low in price in the early days. The) were 

only worth from two dollars to two dollars ami fifty cent- per 
hundred when fat. While Pais! & Co. were packing pork here 
in the forties, they only paid the above prices. Uncle John 
Hedrick, at one time, heard that pork was a good price in Vir- 
ginia. Me bought a wagon load 1 f cured pork ><i Pais! & G 






ami hired a team to haul it to the \ irginia market. We had no 
railroads in those days, and Uncle John said he did not make 
enough profit on that wagon load of cured pork to pay for the 

i •!' the team. 

In the carl_\ days we could not drive or ride out of town 
without paying toll for as many miles as we went on the pike in 
any direction. 'The tollgate on the London pike east was situated 
on the north side of the pike nearly opposite the east end of our 
present school house grounds, and just west of the tollgate, a 
little northeast, we left the pike and took the old dirt road to 
London. Before the pike was made it went up the hill where 
Mr--. Jesse Stroup, Sr., now lives. Our tollgate west on the 
London and Xenia pike was near Mr. 1 ). A. Sprague's Maple- 
leaf Farm, on north side of pike. On the South Solon pike it 
was on the east side of the pike just north of the Kendall P. 
Truitl and Lewi- Hedrick farm-, and north on the Springfield 
pike the tollgate was at Lisbon. 

( »ld Uncle Lphriam Vance kept the toll-ate on the London 
pike just east of town for many year-, lie was a remarkable 
old man. After he had passed his ninetieth year my father met 
him at the Paullin corner, lie told father lie had keen taking 
a walk. Father asked him where he had been, and he replied 
he had "Just walked to Springfield and hack and was then on 
hi- way home. - ' Father said. "Uncle Lphriam. I don't see how 
a man of your age can make that walk of twenty-five mile-." to 
which he replied. "Why, John, that was not much of a walk for 
me." and then he jumped straight np and knocked hi- feet to 
gether three time- before he -truck the ground. In the early 
days he was a greal hunter. I will here give you some of his 
experience- almosl in the corporate limit- of South Charleston, 
Ohio. 

At one time he killed a wild cat in what wa- always after 
that called the "Old Cat Tail Pond," near where Mr-. Jesse 
Stroup, Sr.. now lives. We boy- many year- ago had it for our 
skating pond. It wa- then a wild looking place; we would skate 
there in day lime and at night when it was moonlight. 1 -hall 
never forgel a fall I got there on skates one night, when my 
head -truck the ice and I saw -tar-, and 1< >t - ^\ them, lie also 
killed a big black bear in the same swamp, which wa- the la-t 
wild bear killed m tin- neighborhood. He lived at one time on 
or near the David Pringle farm, about one anil one-half miles 
SOUth of town. lie started to walk to town one night and when 
he gol nearly to the William Watson place, when 
Slaughter now live-, he heard a big pack of wolves howling on 
hi- trail. lie knew what that meant for him. that he would bo 
torn to piece- a- soon a- the) gol to him. lie started to rim 
for a tree, but he was m a big <>]>cn held with no tree-. lie 
-aw a haystack and ran to it. and in some way gol to the top 



of the stack just in time. Then the wolves came after him. 
jumped on the stack and fell off. They kept that up all night, 
howling, growling and fighting over him until daylight, when 
they sneaked away to their dens. It was a very cold night 
and Uncle Bphriam by morning was nearly frozen when he slid 
off that haystack and went home. He had no trouble to keep 
awake that night. At another time he was deer hunting out on 
old Uncle James Pringle's farm, now owned by Isaac D. Pringle, 
about one and out. -half miles south of town. He shot a large 
buck deer with big horns; he fell, and Uncle Ephriam supposed 
he had killed him and ran to him to cut his throat. When he 
got to him the buck jumped up and fought him with his horns 
and front feet. In less time than it takes to tell it he bad nearly 
all his clothes torn off, and would have soon been killed, but 
Uncle James Pringle happened to be near him and ran to his 
help, and the two together killed the deer. R. B. Reeder shot 
and killed the last wild deer killed near here. 

(>ld Uncle George Bennett, grandfather of Enoch M. Ben- 
nett, was one of our early settlers here. He settled about one 
and one-half miles west of town, on the south side of the old 
Clifton road, just west of the Mattinson bridge. There is still 
standing in the road in front of where bis house used to stand 
a large tree; right by that tree he built bis blacksmith shop. He 
killed many deer along the creek in the early days. || c kept 

two very large, fine dogs thai he called bis deer logs. So well 

trained were they that when he would shoot a deer and wound 
it the dogs would catch and hold it until he would knife it. T 
have forgotten the dogs' names. 1 remember him well and 
nearly all the old early settlers and their faun! 

My father told me rabbits and squirrels were very plentiful 
here in the earl_\- days. He said at one time he saw tin 
squirrels emigrating from the woods on the north side of the 

Lisbon creek to the woods on the SOUth side near where the 

Hempleman bridge now is, in what is now T. E. Mattinson's 

big pasture. They came over on a rail fence by the hundreds 

and when they came to the water gap, crossed over on it. 

Father Stood there with a club and killed more than he COUld 

carry home. Me also told me that in that same neighborhood 

rabbits were so plentiful one winter that "11 Uncle Richard 
(.hauler and his boys killed SO many of them the\ -alted the 

hams down in barrels and senl them by \at Moss's big six-horse 
m to the Cincinnati market. Nat Moss, the man that ran 
this wagon, was a mulatto. He lost his life in a house in 
Columbus, < >.. when the house was burned in the night. 

When my grandfather, Daniel Jones, mentioned before, left 
the State of Delaware in [8l2 and settled about three miles 
northeasl of where our town now is. he freed two of his slaves, 
a young man an 1 woman whom he brought hen- with him. 

80 



leaving all the rest at his old home near Newark, Delaware. Ik- 
did not think it was right to own slaves. He had an old friend 
m Springfield, ()., a merchant who had a store there in the early 
days. He went to see him one day and told him he would give 
him power of attorney, and the next time he went to Philadelphia 
to buy goods, to free all of Ins slaves, with the understanding 
that he would do a- requested, which the merchant agreed to do. 
( '.rand father -aid it would save him a long trip East and back 
on horseback or in stage coaches. The merchant took the power 
of attorney, changed the wording or had it changed, went East, 
stopped in Delaware and sold all the slaves, "Id and young, for 
cash, went to Philadelphia, bought and sent hack to Springfield, 

( ».. the largest stock of g p ever in that town up to that time. 

Thi- show- that a man would do almost anything then as now 
for the almighty dollar. 

We have near our town three creeks. These streams 
the Little Miami River. They are known a- the Lisbon Ci 
the Pringle Creek and the one in the north end of town on 
Chillicothe street. These three streams all come together aboul 
two miles west of South Charleston. This form- the head of 
the Little Miami River an 1 aboul one mile farther west at the 
Buff bridge it makes quite a large creek. Still father wesl at 
Loveland, I >.. it is used for boating. The Lisbon Creek head- 
on the Bonner Farm. Our creek heads still farther northeast 
on the Dunn farm. The Pringle Creek heads on the Alfred 
Stroup farm, formerly the Presley Jones farm. 

Many years ago Uncle Jonathan Cheney had an old Irish- 
man working for him named Tim Murphy. I well remember 
him. lie told Tim that he must not -moke hi- pipe while hauling 
feel to the livestock, hut Tim would smoke jusl the same. < >ne 
day he had a big load of fodder on his sled and Uncle Jonathan 
got behind it. struck a match and tired the load of folder. The 
oxen ran off, Tim fell off and was nearly frightened to death: 
thought he had set it afire with his pipe. Uncle Jonathan had 
a big laugh i >ver the fun. 

\t one time Uncle David Selsor came to Town with enough 
salt in a grain sack to sail a lol of cattle he had north of town 
in what is now the Cyrus Murray pasture. He stopped on his 
way at the Holmes & Jones dry goods -tore. Isaac l'ai-t took 
hi- sack of -alt off hi- -addle, emptied the -alt in a large -tone 
jar in the hack part of the -tore, put in aboul the same amount 
"i -and and put it on the horse. Uncle David went to his cattle, 
called them all up and commenced throwing out the -an 1 to 
them. lie soon -aw the joke, came hack to town for -alt. -aw 
Isaac I'ai-t and -aid, "Ike, you did that." 

In the early days there was a tribe of Indians i they were 
not hostile) who had a trail up and lown Massies Creek which 

31 



they often traveled over. This creek heads about two and one- 
half miles southeast of South Charleston on the Stacy 1!. Rankin 
farm, formerly the Jacob Peirce farm. It run- through Mrs. 
I. aura Larkins' farm, formerly the Amos Briggs farm, en 
the Columbus and Xenia pike about one-half mile west of Selma, 
gets larger as it flows west and passes through Cedarvill< 
The Indians had a regular camping ground on the high ground 
where Mrs. Laura Larkins' house now stands, and also under 
a large oak tree, which is -till standing only a few rods south 
of her house, and a few feet east of the bridge-. At that time 
Joseph Briggs, father of Amos ami Charles Briggs, lived in a 
log cabin where Mr-. Larkins' home now stands. 

I '.en Morgan, -on of Esquire David Morgan, clerked for 
Paist & Sun in the little frame building on the Laullin corner. 
They had a large hand-bill tacked up in their -tore which read 
this \va_\ : 

Clear, the track, still they come; 

More new goods for Paist & Son. 

Jake Morgan fell out of that big oak tree that -till Stands 
near Luther Bussard's dwelling and broke his leg. That i- also 
where the old one-story brick, and later the two-story brick 
school houses used to stand, directly opposite the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, on the east side of Church street. The old 
school house pond was just a short distance, probably fifty yards, 
south of the school house on the same side of the street, where 
the boy- and girl- u^v(\ to slide and skate, the boy- playing 
-hinney. The Honorable Whitelaw Reid taught in the tWO- 
Story brick house, and one winter Maley Thompson, the old 

London, < >.. detective, was his assistant teacher in one of the 
rooms. 

After Dan Johnson left the old tavern, on the present school 
house grounds, and moved to Illinois, Tom Mine- then ran the 
old tavern until the death of Gilbert Pierce at the Galligher 
corner on Woodward avenue and Chillicothe street, near the 
Miami. Railroad. Then lime- moved to the Gilbert Pierce 
Tavern above located. Then Philip Smith and famih mov< I 
into the Dan Johnson Tavern and ran it for years, lie built 
ill.- pike from here to Jeffersonville, and nearly all the pike 
from here to Springfield. 

Man\ year- ago Daniel Seibert- had a flouring mill about 
where the lion-Urn Company now have their grain elevator. 

Jacob I.ambing was engineer. This mill and Houston's store, 
owned by Henry and John Houston, wire destroyed by tire in 

the winter of [86] [862 Later on Houston & Murrax had a 

flouring mill jusl easl of our passenger station, at the railroad 
ing, on tin' South So|<m pike. Leon II. Houston and Peter 
Murray, owner-: Daniel SeibertJ and Win. McMillen, mi 



and Oliver Peters, engineer. This mill was destroyed by fire 
m March, 1877. 

It seems but a short time since the field across the .Miami 
Railroad opposite our passenger station was covered with heavy 
timber and hazel brush, and the men and boys in town used to 

hunt and kill quail, squirrels and coon then-, and then we had 
thr old Truitt pond there, where the boys and girls used to skate. 

Ephriam Nye, grandson of Uncle Ephriam Vance, lived 
here when a hoy. He left here man}- years ago, and 1 am told 
he now lives in Montana, and is a millionaire. I u-ol to go 
wild pigeon hunting with him when we were boys. What has 
become of the millions of wild pigeons? Sixty years ago they 
could he seen here by the thousands, flying until they would 
darken the sky. 1 have seen them in flocks from one-half to 
one mile wide, flying to their roost. I have shot and killed lots 
of them; they rOOSteJ in the Merritt woods, on the south side 
of the old Springfield road, just east of the Hempleman bridge. 
The men and boys surely did enjoy shooting wild pigeon 
think old Tom lime- got hi- share, for he took his old shotgun 
and It mked after them often. 

In [823, Philip Hedrick petitioned for a road from South 
Charleston to Jamestown, and was successful. Jamestown street 
is a continuation of this road. The road at the west end of 
Jamestown stnet. north to Columbus street, was not established 
until last year, [909. 

When Isaac Paist built the Paullin corner building, and the 

corner stone was laid, he put in a box, with about twenty sheets 
of foolscap paper, of well written history of this town and sur- 
rounding c< luntry, s< 1 I am told. 

< »ne day Mi'. Michael Jones, tanner, was ;u die Dan Johnson 
Tavern, and some men were trying to drive a mad wild cow past 
the tavern, to the scale pen. sj 1 nate 1 on the old fair ground, at the 
east end of our present school house -rounds. At that time that 
was the only scale in town to weigh live st, ick, hay, grain, etc. The 
cow got after Mr. Jones and gored him very badly, then turned 
and ran towards the Methodist Episcopal Church, turned wesl 
on Jamestown streel and near the Rankin corner, there was a 
young colored man walking in the road. The row started for 
him, he ran to what is now Dr. Moore's corner, where there was 
a high rail fence, cleared it at one jump, and ran through the 
ha/el brush, and scrub trees, hut the row did not gel him: she 
kept up Jamestown street on a run and [saac I.andaker got a 

and shot and killed her on the stn 

In the early fifties after the I.. M. Railroad was com] 
from Xenia to Columbus, the first firm to open a n the 

site where The Houston Company store now stands, was I.arkin 



& Haughe) ; David Larkin and Laban W. Haughey. Then it was 
X. B. Moore & Company, then A. G. Diehl & Bro., Guy and Bert 
Diehl; then Houston Brothers, Henry C. and Jonh K. Houston; 
then Houston & Murray. Leon H. Houston and Peter Murray; 
then Houston & Bro., Leon II. and Edwin D. Houston; then 
Houston Bros., Leon II.. Edwin I), and Foster B. Houston, and 
now, in n>io. The Houston Company. 

There arc three things that I am a little proud of. When a 
boy, I rode often in the first road vehicle with springs ever owned 
by anyone in or near South Charleston, up to that time. It was 
an open, paneled bed one horse spring wagon, owned by Mr. 
Elwell Pratt, who lived just north of town. He hired this 
wagon out and n was in use nearly every day. 1 also rode to 
Xenia and back in a gravel car with a crowd of men and boys, 
one cold day in the winter of 1849, an< l we nearly froze. This 
was the first train of cars that ever run into South Charleston. 
The L. M. Railroad was at that time only built as far ea-t as 
where the Houston Company store now stand-. 

I helped my father set out, on his sidewalk, in front of the 
old Reeder homestead, the first shade tree ever sel out in South 
Charleston, Ohio. At the same time we set out shade tree- for 
ten rods on our sidewalk. 

We started with a small one story log school house. Now, 
in [910, we have a fine $35,000 brick, tile roof, school building 
and the besl kept and prettiest town of its size in the State of ( >hio, 
and it is still booming, every year. Don't forget Our Centennial 
and Great Home Coming, November Est. [Q15. 



w 



Historical Clark County and Springfield 



Clark County was founded March i-t. [817, from Cham- 
paign, Madison and Green Counties, an.l was named in honor of 
General George Rodgers Clark. The first settlement in the 
county was at Cribbs Station in die fork- of Mad River in the 
Spring of 1796. The first white men known to have settled in 
the present limits of Clark County were David Lowry and 
Jonathan Donnells. During the same year two men named 
Kiel) and Brown came into the neighborhood. Their camp was 
beyond the deep cut now near the second crossing of the Dayton 
Railroad. With them Lowry exchanged work, that is, he hunted 
ami fished to secure food for them while they built their log 
cabins and cultivated and raised the first crop of com grown in 
(.'lark County. Ohio, by white men. The new settlers found the 
wood- tilled with hear-, deer, turkey- and other game and hegan 
the work <»f providing meat for winter use. Habitations were 
erected with the sole aid of ax and auger and here in log cabins 
with -tick chimney- built in a few days, these pioneer- hegan 
their forest life. 

John Humphreys an 1 Simon Kenton, together with six other 
families, came to tin- settlement from Kentucky. In [799, in the 
summer, a Fort was built by them near the presenl Mad River 
bridge on the National Pike, west of Springfield. Fourteen log 
cabins were built and a block house retreat thus made in case of 
Indian hostility. Simon Kenton, well known in the annals of 
border warfare with the Indian-, lived for a time near the -ite of 
Lagonda, hut a- the settlers gathered around, he in common with 
the spirits of hi- class, moved onward deep into the wilderness 
and passed hi- notable life in what i- now Logan County, ( >hio. 
lli- death occurred at the age of eighty-one. John Humphreys 
die 1 at the advanced age of ninety-four years. 

With the Kentucky colony came James lVmmt. who huilt 

himself a log cabin a little easl of where the present Springfield 
Seminary now stands, and he shortly after built the first -till- 
house in Clark County, a -mall one near the spring in from of 
tin- Seminary building. Like many other- he drank a- well as 

-old. and was not a temperate drinker. 

Griffith Poos, with several other- came from Kentucky up 
the Scioto Valley t<> FTranklinton, across the river from Colum- 
bus. (That was before Columbus was laid out a- a town or 



city;. They left their families there and started west to explore 
the country for a place to locate. They discovered Demint's 
cabin, where they made a sta) of several days. Demint told them 
lhat he was going to lay out a town there and offered them land 
then at verj low prices. John Daugherty, of Kentucky, was 
engaged and the work of survey for a town was commenced 
March 17th, t8oi. Mrs. James Demint sugested that the town be 
named Springfield, on account »f the numerous adjacent springs, 
and the name was adopted. The survey was completed, nial 
eighty two lots in the original plat. Boos and his pan; returned 
in Franklinton for their families. In their removal with their 
wagons they made the first wagon tracks in that direction into 
Springfield, Ohio. 'The journe) occupied four and one-half days, 
one da) being given to cross the Big Darby Creek. First they 
packed their goods across upon horses and then drew their 
wagons over with ropes. Their route through the woods had 
to be cleared with axes in many places. After Griffith Foos 
arrived he made preparations to build a house. Tins house was 
the first one built in the town of Springfield. It was a double 
lo^ cabin, situated on the south side of Main street, a little east of 
the late residence ^i John Bacon, and was opened a- a Tavern in 
June, [8oi. 

In [804, Springfield contained eleven houses all built of logs. 
Trior to that time the inhabitants of the town and neighborhood 
carried grain on horse-back to a mill near Lebanon, Ohii . 
grinding. James Demint erected a grist-mill at the mouth of Mill 
Run, which was thought to In- of fair capacity since it could 
ijrind five bushels of grain during twenty-four hour-. 

The postoffice was established in 1S04. John Dougherty, 
postmaster. The mails were lelivered to the postoffice in fine, 
four-horse stage coaches. In [850 Springfield was made a city. 
with Judge James M. Hunt, mayor. Population 5,109. The old 
court house was built in 1X21 for the sum of thirty-nine hundred 
and seventy-two dollars. My father-in-law, G. F. Sweet, at that 
time was a boy about fifteen years old. Ills parents being dead, 
he male his home with Griffith Foos, and hauled the sand to 
build the court house. In July. [819, the County Commissioners 
ordered a jail buill for Clark County, Ohio. It was to be built 
of logs sixteen feet square and one story high, and it cost Clark 
County just eighty dollars when completed. They arrested a 
colored man h\ the name of Johnson for some crime and locked 
him up in jail. He pried off the jail door, threw it in the Mill 
Run and walked away. Abram D. Mercuess was the first jailor. 
and kept a big black hear chained to a stake near the jail door. 



BACK IN OLD OHIO 



(Fom Denver News.) 

Pardon, stranger; did you say you're from Ohio? Shake! 
Born there was you? Well, 1 guess we're about of the same 
make. 
And I'm mighty glad to see you stranger, for the sake 

( )]' the love I hear to ( Hd ( Mim. 

What i-> that: You're from the hills? Well, shake again, by Jo, 
From the hills along the river, where the buckeyes grew. 

1 hain't been hack there I guess, since twentx years ago: 
Bui ni_\ heart is full of I >ld I >hio. 

Twent) years a schemin' in among the crowds "I men, 

Twehty years — l'\e seen a heap dt" this world since then. 
But tonight I'd kmd-6f-like t«> wander hack again. 
Back among the hills of Old Ohio. 

Down the river! Fished there many a summer afternoon, 
Sat and dreamed there too, on many a ha'my night in June, 

Lookih" o'er the water where I see the risin' moon, 
Smilin' w hite across the ( >ld ( >hio. 

Sweetest times are the old times, like them we used to know. 
Sweetest scenes and sweetesl dreams are them of long ag 

When we sat upon the banks and listened to the flow 
( >f the waves along the < Hd ' >hio. 

Still her spell is on me and her music's in my ears, 
Still her beauty shines to me. although it be thro' tears. 

Still my heart goes hack to her across the gap of war-. 
Back into the scenes of < Hd < )hio. 

Am'i no better state than that upon God's rollin' earth: 
Ain't no better people gol this side of birth, 

( )\ more real bottom, an* more energy an' worth. 

Than the folks that's raised in I Hd I 'hi... 

81 



lioastin*, am I? Well, that's a buckeye fail in' ; but — 

Slate of Garfield, ('.rant an' Sherman's got a right to strut; 

Read the nana-- of soldiers an' of statesmen that were cut 
On the shaft of Fame by Old < Mho. 

Mighty glad to see you, stranger! Does a feller good; 
Fills him with a sentimenl of kin ami brotherhood; 

Makes him feci as if he'd met a feller of the blood, 
When he strikes a man from < Mil ( Ihio. 

Sweetest times are the old times, the days of long ago: 

Sweetest scenes and sweetesl dreams are them we used to know 

On the hills along the river where the buckeye grows 
In the royal state of ( )ld < >hio. 



3'.' 



14 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



JAK 6 






